Our Visit to Lincolnshire-Kirkby on Bain

St Mary's Church, Kirkby on Bain.

Today we continue the story of our visit to Lincolnshire with a stop in Kirkby on Bain. This village was the home of Elizabeth Would who married George Stephenson in 1797. We have records of the Woulds living in Kirkby on Bain as far back as 1695 when Edward Would, Elizabeth’s great-grandfather, lived there. The name means Church on the River Bain and records show that there was a church here as early as 1085. Elizabeth and her siblings were christened here, although the church was in poor repair during her life here. The current church was rebuilt in 1802.

St Mary's Church, Kirkby on Bain.

We visited on a Sunday evening, and Evensong was in progress. We enjoyed listening to the music and when services ended, we talked with the rector and with some of the women who were knowledgeable about the history of the area. They pointed out a house in the distance where Woulds were still living. We were not able to visit the people living there, so we don’t know if they are descendants of our line. The maiden name of one of the women was Stephenson, but she didn’t know enough about her ancestors to establish if we were related. There were a number of Would gravestones in the church graveyard, but none that we can establish as directly related to us. It seems probable that the Woulds who settled in this small community would be related, but we do not have records to determine this for a certainty. British records before 1813 are very limited. We experienced the same problem with Stephensons in Horncastle and Hogsthorpe.

River Bain near the church. When this river floods, it is no longer the lazy, quiet stream that it appears in this photograph.

Jim and Pat visit with the members of St Mary's Church after Evensong.

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